Alabama Tourism Department Director Lee Sentell, who has led the
Department since 2003, will continue in that role. Under Sentell’s
leadership, the agency has been recognized for its marketing campaigns to
increase tourism in Alabama. The agency has received a number of regional
and national awards for its campaigns focusing on Alabama arts, foods and
small towns.
During Sentell’s tenure, Alabama’s tourism industry has grown by more
than 43 percent to $9.3 billion, making Alabama’s tourism growth one of the
highest in the southeast.
Sentell is chair of the Southern State Tourism Directors Association and
is a board member of the National State Tourism Directors Council. He serves
on the boards of the Alabama Historical Commission, the Alabama State
Council on the Arts, the Alabama Humanities Foundation and the Alabama
Shakespeare Festival.
Sentell is a former city editor of the Decatur Daily. He was marketing
director of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and served as tourism director of
the Huntsville Convention & Visitors Bureau.
He is a native of Ashland, Alabama, and is a communications graduate of
Auburn University.
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